SELLER OF ‘SUICIDE KITS’ GETS PROBATION, FINE

Retired schoolteacher who had 1,300 customers sentenced for not filing tax returns

Mazza said the case was filed not because the government was taking a stance against assisted suicide but to stop Hydorn from selling the kits to anyone who sent her money without doing any background check.

Hydorn said outside of court that she acted only out of a desire to help families. She recalled that 30 years ago, her husband died a painful death from cancer, and at the end from his hospital bed all he could say to her was “home, home.”

“I wanted people to be able to die at home … with their families,” she said.

In all, Hydorn earned about $42,000 from the kit sales, Mazza said. The total tax loss, which includes income she did not report from rental properties as well as the kit sales, is $25,000.